On Friday, I mentioned that I was participating in Cycle for Survival for the third year in a row. Cycle for Survival is “the high-energy indoor team cycling event that provides a tangible way to beat rare cancers.” Why do I ride? 50% of people with cancer are battling a “rare cancer.” Rare cancers include brain, pancreatic, cervical, sarcoma, stomach, pediatric and countless others. Unfortunately, I know people who have been impacted, or who have loved ones who have been impacted, by many of these cancers.
Also, if you check out my recap from last year, you will see that I initially got involved three years ago. I read an article about Jennifer Goodman Linn in 2008 or 2009 when the ride was being promoted. In 2004, at age 33, she was diagnosed with a rare cancer, called sarcoma. She was given a 50/50 chance of survival. She was encouraged by her friends and especially people the she worked out with. Jennifer Linn founded Cycle for Survival in 2007 with Equinox gym in New York City. It was a grass-roots program inspired by her love for cycling and the encouragement she found among her gym buddies.
Today, thousands of cyclists team up each year with friends, family and coworkers to ride against cancer. Last year all of the rides raised over 14 million dollars. With several weeks to go, the current total is over 10.5 million!
This year our Erica Finds team raised over $5,000 and my friends from “Braking Bad” are over $4,500!! Woot woot!
This year we rode the morning shift from 8 – 12 and the energy was super high! I led off at 8:00 AM with my teammate Lisa. Jenn Hogg from Equinox was our instructor (same as last year!) Jen rocks and got the place fired up. The energy and enthusiasm was high for the whole four hours. Everyone got amazing workouts and huge doses of inspiration again this year. Some highlights:
- Team Emma’s spokesman (her dad) told an amazing story of Emma’s treatment for retinoblastoma at MSKCC and how she kept her eye, her sight and has been cancer free for 5 years! She’s 5 1/2!
- Survivors and people fighting cancer were recognized and cheered on with so much enthusiasm.
- We were all reminded of the power and energy of grassroots efforts. An event that was targeted to raise $10,000 at the start has now raised over $62 million dollars in 10 years!
- A physician from MSKCC spoke about advances in research from the funds raised in last years ride – we are having a direct impact!!
- Dave Linn, the founder’s husband, inspired us to stay in the battle and get others to join and shared an awesome dance party in the end to remind us of the importance of joy in our lives! Awesome.
I also want to offer a special thanks to Paul at Suddora for sending eight awesome red sweatbands for my Erica Finds team. We all wore them proudly! You can see them in some of the photos above. It gets VERY warm with that many spinners! We also got to try a few with a zip pocket. These are super convenient for a keys, money and more. We loved the old school look and practicality! They are super affordable, too! They also do custom sweatbands (and tons of other items) through their partner business CustomOnIt. I will have more from Suddora and a giveaway/promotion soon!
You can click HERE to learn more and to support my “Erica Finds” team. There are still rides left in several cities – I highly recommend it! Or sign up for next year. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did! As always, I am so grateful for the support of my friends and family in this and other endeavors. This one is truly worthwhile!
Sometimes being a blogger is awesome. Why? Because I am a member of the Wild Ophelia chocolate posse for one! The nice folks at Wild Ophelia sent me two awesome Valentines boxes. Don’t know Wild Ophelia? You can read my review from a few months ago or check out their website.
There are two kinds of all natural chocolates in these awesome boxes: New England Style Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Bites and Tart Cherry Caramel Milk Chocolate Bites. They are adorable, hedgehog shaped, chocolates filled with a salted caramel or cherry caramel– Wow!
They are both packaged in pretty, heart-shaped boxes. You can find them in Walgreens stores nationwide for your Valentine. You can follow Wild Ophelia on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about their products and special promotions. And, great news for you – I am giving these away to two lucky readers. Plus, there will be extra entries for all who support Cycle for Survival (be sure to get credit if you donated to someone else, too!) Enter with the Rafflecopter below:
Please don’t forget to click the green button on each entry you choose. If you already like my page on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter, click that button on the Rafflecopter and get credit! The giveaway is open through the end of the day on Thursday, February 13th. I will select and notify winners on Friday, February 14th. One prize per winner. Only valid for participants in the US at this time. Participants must be 18 years of age or older. Void where prohibited.
Please Note: The products for review/giveaway were provided to me at no cost by Wild Ophelia. All opinions and comments are my own. I was not compensated for this post.